


A Day At The Zoo

by lightbroke



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), Shadowhunters (TV) RPF, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Angst, Cats, Fluff and Angst, Immortality, M/M, Mortality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 11:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11035062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightbroke/pseuds/lightbroke
Summary: Let me know in the comments if you'd like me to expand this work.Follow me on Twitter @lightbroke





	A Day At The Zoo

“I don’t get the point of owning a pet, Magnus.” Alec said as Chairman skirted between his legs for what had to be the hundredth time that hour.

“I don’t get the point in not getting the point of owning a pet, Alexander.” Magnus sighed back, flipping a page in the most recent copy of The New Yorker.

“I’m being serious.” The Nephilim looked down at the small ball of hyperactive fluff rubbing its head along his ankle staining his pants with cat hair. “And they make me sneeze.”

“Don’t kid yourself.” With stealth silence Magnus had removed himself from his comfortable perch on the recliner and had Chairman curled in his arms. “You don’t even bother getting close enough to them in order to make yourself sneeze.” Chairman meowed in agreement with his father. Alec rolled his eyes.

“They die. “

“All things die.”

“You don’t.” Alec’s gaze fell to the ground for a moment. He hadn’t planned for them to have this conversation but talking was so natural with Magnus that sometimes his deepest concerns just had a way of weaseling out of the normally tight lock the boy had them under.

“And neither does Church.”

“Wait…what?” His brow scrunched. For a brief moment the sadness that had hung heavy over his heart paused. “Is he…a Warlock?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Alec.” Magnus laughed softly, a sound Alec truly loved. “While Church is surely jaded enough to be one, he isn’t. He’s just special.” There was a small lull before the High Warlock started again. “Now do you want to have the _actual_ conversation you’ve been alluding to or shall we keep talking about cats?” His tone was gentle with notes of inescapable sadness. 

Guilt colored Alexander’s hazels. He wondered how many lovers Magnus had talked immortality with. “I’m worried that this, that us, I–” The Shadowhunter didn’t want to ruin what they had going on: casual dating, intimate smiles, nights under tangled bed sheets. But he also wanted to make sure Magnus wasn’t hurting. “I don’t want to come off conceded but I’m worried that maybe you’re only in this relationship to hurt yourself. Because-because you think you deserve to suffer.”

The hurt that Alec had been dreading played out on Magnus’ eyes before the all-familiar wall of distance flew up. Golden marks turned to brown glamour. “You don’t believe I love you? Or is it you don’t think I’m capable of loving?” There was bitterness and venom in the latter.  
Alec winced. “No. It’s not that. I just,”

“I get where you’re coming from, Alexander. Truly I do.”

It pained Alec to see Magnus close more and more of himself off. “Magnus, don’t. I–“

“A heart that’s centuries old surely is incapable of beating properly.” The man’s lips struggled not to curl as he lashed out brutal whips of sarcasm. “Is it because Downworlders are inherently selfish? That I have lured you into this relationship just to tear open old wounds and make new ones?” His eyes turned into slits. Alec was stuck between scared that he’d permanently fucked this up and impressed that Magnus was standing his ground. In the beginning he always let Alec walk away and didn’t bother to fight back.

Alec blinked in a flurry when he realized the quiet interlude that followed Magnus’ questions meant it was his turn to reply. “Izzy says I think this way because I don’t value myself enough.” It wasn’t an attempt at manipulation or a slap in the face with vulnerability. Alec was simply being honest. “And sometimes I think she’s right but other times I’m scared that I’m just going to end up hurting you in the end. Like right now. I-I didn’t mean to hurt you right now.”

Silence followed. Alec liked it better when they were talking about cats. He’d take a full on sneeze storm to the tension that was settling in the loft. As the tension built, Alec started to become afraid Magnus would ask him to leave. 

“I guess I never thought about how you felt. Being immortal. Losing people. L-losing me.” He heard what Camille had said all those months ago, how Magnus watches the ones he loves age and die, but had always thought about it from his own mortal perspective. 

“I’m an adult, Alec. Let me make my own decisions.” Magnus’ brown eyes were downcast. Chairman had long since jumped out of his arms and trotted away, allowing his father privacy. “Let me choose who and when and how to love.” 

“You’re right.” He waited a beat before taking a step closer. “I’m sorry.” His hands hung limply at his sides before the right moved to brush against Magnus’. Their fingers latched slowly and noncommittally. “It’s all so–”

“—new.” Magnus finished. “It is for me too. Please don’t forget that.” Magnus finally looked up at Alexander. Iridescent flecks of gold pressed against the mundane glamour of brown he wore as a shield. “You’re new for me too, Alexander. And not just because you’re a Shadowhunter.” The boy’s head dipped in apology. “I love you.” Alec’s heart fluttered; he knew that feeling would never fade through time. 

“I love you too.” He gave his hand a squeeze. Magnus squeezed back.

“Isabelle’s a smart woman.”

Alec smiled gently and nodded silently. “I was being for real in the beginning though.” He felt Magnus stiffen. “About actual cats.” Alexander chuckled as he watched his boyfriend’s shoulders relax. “Granted, they’re better than dogs because they’re more independent but…why? Why bother with pets?”

Magnus stared at Alec for a few minutes. The Nephilim could see the cogs in his brilliant mind stirring. “Grab your jacket, Lightwood. We’re going somewhere I’m sure you’ve never been before.”

“That could literally be anywhere.” He laughed, walking to the coat rack. “Can I get a hint at least? Like the colors of the flag to the place you’re taking me?”

“Red, white, and blue.” Magnus replied, his voice chiming from the bedroom. Alec followed it, ending up in the wide closet. 

“That narrows it down to 38 countries. The pool’s still too wide. Can I get another hint?” He leaned against the doorframe. When Magnus draped two jacket options against his chest, Alec simply shook his head and walked inside the room to find the one he had in mind. 

“The inseam in that one itches me.” Magnus said, handling the jacket Alec had offered him. 

“Then why do you keep it?”

“I like the color.” Alec’s brows rose. “And maybe one day it’ll stop itching me––leave me be. I’m a creature of habit.”

“You’re a dragon and clothes are your gold.” Rolling his eyes, Alec pressed a kiss to his temple and went to sit on his bed. “Hint?” He asked again.

“A zoo.”

“Narrower for sure but still too wide.”

There was a huff and a sigh and a click as the lights blinked out of the walk in closet. “I’m taking you to the zoo right here in New York where there are animals a plenty. Do I like the idea of animals in forced captivity? No. Actually, I really hate it.”

“Focus.” Alec smiled, reaching his hand out to hold Magnus’ and tug him a little closer. 

“ _Right._ The zoo. You’re supposed to go to the zoo when you’re little instead of learning weaponry and how to best behead a demon. You go to the zoo and dream of sneaking into various sections and living with wild animals. Creativity soars and dreams get new splashes of color.” He ruffled his fingers atop of Alec’s jet-black hair. 

“You’re supposed to beg your parents for a pet tiger or shark or ostrich that holiday season, not for a new bow and arrow or less chores.” Magnus’ hands were cupped along Alec’s jaw, arching his head upwards to look at him directly. “I’m taking you to the zoo so that maybe, _just maybe,_ you’ll see why I like pets. Why I let Chairman Meow and Church have run of the place.” 

“The zoo.” Alec blinked a few times and stared at Magnus. “I never said I didn’t like animals. Just that I didn’t see the point in living alongside them.”

“I only date people who appreciate my cats, Alexander.” Magnus spun on the heel of his boot and headed to the door, walking slow enough for Alec to follow behind. 

"The zoo.” Alec said again.

“Repetition is not the secret to eternal youth, dear.” He smirked over his shoulder, holding the front door open. “But yes. We’re going to the zoo.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know in the comments if you'd like me to expand this work.
> 
> Follow me on Twitter @lightbroke


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